Tobacco stick



June vl2, 1945. c. MAYERs ETAL TOBACCO STICK Filed Jan. 4, 1945 @O4 umg5 wllfllluuu,

Patented June 12, 1945 l TOBACCO STICK Lonnie- C. Mayer-s and Mack C.Mayers",

. y' Lumberton, N.C.,

Application January 4, 1945', serial No. 57.1;328

5 Claims.

This invention relates totobacco leaf hangers commonly known as tobaccosticks, and an object of this invention is toprovide a novel stick ortobacco leaf holder forr suspending the tobacco leaves in drying barnsorrcuring houses while the tobacco is undergoing aging and treatment. ev

`A further object ofv the invention is to provide a stick of thecharacter indicated which will` effectually clamp the stem of the rleafsok thatthe leaf will be suspended in ordinary man- `ner during thecuring processes.

It is Ifurtllerrnoreyan"objectof the invention to provide a stick oftheycharacter stated, in

connection with which the stems ofthe leaves may be assembled prior tomoving lthe clamping member into clamping operation, avc'ondition whichfacilitates the placing of the tobacco on 'the stick, since the stickmay besupported on a boardwof, s uflicient width and the leaves whileresting onl the board have their vstems inserted betwen the clamping`members and when the said stick has been 'lled, the clamping members'are forced into engagement, with thestems with sufficient friction toyprevent displacement ofthe leaves while the stick is being handled as'itis installed and removed'from the racks'of the Touring houses, and bythis is. meant tobacco barns ork other enclosures. n y f It is'a furtherobject of theinvention t0` provide `a stick having two clampingmembers,r each of which is preferably of `channel iron, rone of saidmembers being provided with latchesY or clamps which engage theothermember tohold themk in assembled relation with the tobacco in- Y'terposed between them; and it isfurthermore an object to provide anintermediate element associated with the member'ior exerting Pressure onthe'tobacco at the interinnediatev portions of the stick.

It is a still further` object "oi the invention to provide a tobaccostick, which, as stated, will A' simplify the placing ofthetoba'cco, forthe reason that it can beope'rated by.y one person, whereas in the oldfashioned sticks now-in common use. a tying .operation is followed inwhich two persons are required l.to handle' the tobacco and manipulatethe tying operation, so that the invent-ion' results in an inexpensivemeans for handling tobacco from the time it is submitted to the dryingbarns or the like until it is removed for pressing. i

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists intheA details of construction, and in the arrangement and combination(C1. 294-5.5) of parts to be hereinaftery more fully sletfo'rth andclaimed. i

In describing the invention inl detail, refer ence will be* had to theaccompanyingldrawing forming vpart of this application; wherein likecharacters denote corresponding parts in-theseveral views, and in which:l f

Figure 1 illustrates a view-in elevation of the edge of the stick,'showing the board in section;

Figure 2 illustrates a plan view thereof; l

Figure 3 illustrates a. view` of theedee ofthe stick, showing thetobacco stems interposedbetween the clamping members;

Figure 4 illustrates an -enl fragments'of the stick;` y

Fig. 5 illustrates alongitudinal sectional view of the parts as theyappear in Figure 4; if j s Figure 6 illustrates a'sec'tional view on theline s-eofrigs; f

Figure 7 illustrates a sectional view'on the line 1-1 cringe; 1

, Figure 8 illustrates aiplan` view of y, one end of the stick; e' Y 4Figure 9` illustrates a sectional view'of the stick o'n the line 9-9 ofFig. k'7; and

Figure 1 0 illustrates a sectional view of 4the vcentral clamp andpartsassociated with it.

In this drawing ll denotes'what may be `termed the'base clamping member,in that it carries all of theoperatingmechanism-oi the stick and, asshown, it is of channel `iron construction,

with theflanges of the channeliron extending longitudinally of thestick. rNear each endf the vbase there` are inverted U-shaped abutments|'2 which limit the space which maybe occupied by the tobacco stemsAtowardv the ends of the'stick. A pivot pin i3 ,extends transverselyvthrough the base at eachend, and the end of the pin is .clampisoscillatablek on the said` pin.` The cheek pieces are connected byawebl5 which terminates short of the ends of the cheek pieces, as at I6,to form supports for the upper clamping member I1, which is' likewise ofchannel iron, and the flanges of thetwo members Il and I1 coact to bindthe tobacco stems with such frictional contactv as to preventdislodgment of the tobacco during the handling of the stick.

'It is seen from an inspection of the drawing that during the loadingvof the stick, the upper member l1 is supported by the end of the web I5so that it is spaced from the base, and the rged detail'view of'manipulation of the tobacco may proceed until the stick is loaded. Theseparts are duplicated at the two ends of the stick and when the tobaccohas lled the spaces along the anges of the base, the clamping member I'Iis lowered by moving the clamps at the ends to an approximately verticalposition as they are shown in Figure 2 to free the clamping member I'Iso that it may descend with its flanges engaging the tobacco stems,after which the clamp is pressed downwardly over ,the sides of theclamping member II; hence, the relation of parts is such that the spacebetween the cheeks of the clamp is slightly less than the width of theclamping member I'I of the stick, so that in pressing the clamp I4downwardly over the clamping member I1 of the stick, the frictionalengagement of the cheeks with the clamping member is such as to preventthe disengagement of the clamp from the stick.

Between the ends of the stick, an inverted U- shaped lbridge I8 has itssides attached to the inner surfaces of the flanges of the base and itis apertured to receive a bolt I9 lheld in place by a nut threaded onthe bolt and engaging the -J upper surface of the bridge and, in orderto brace the bridge to prevent its Collapse, a collar 2I is interposedbetween the under surface of the bridge 4and the base member I.I. Thebolt extends upwardly a considerable distance and the upper `clampingmember I1 is apertured toreceive the said bolt, the said clamping memberI'I being movable to an elevated position on the bolt.

A means for exerting force on the clamping member I'I between its endsconsists of an aperwhen the clamping member II is elevated withvvrelation to the base, it is adjusted to the position in which it isshown in Figures 4, 5, 6, etc., but when the clamping member I'I islowered to cooperate with the base for clamping the tobacco,V

the plate lis turned to a right angle position so that the lower end ofthe arm 23 engages thev upper surface of the clamping member I1, andwhen the nut 24 threaded on thebolt I9 is operated, it exerts force onthe clamping member I1 to aid in producingfriction to retain the tobaccoin place. Thus, the clamping member is under rpressure from one end ofthe stick to the other, which insures a rm grip on the load.

By reason of the fact that the web terminates short of the ends of thecheek pieces, the protruding ends 25 of the cheek pieces serve as guidesfor retaining the upper clamping member in Aplace while the stick isbeing loaded.

We claim:

1. A tobacco stick comprising two superimposed channel iron members, oneof the said members having an aperture between its ends, a bolt on theother member extendable through the said aperture, a plate on said boltengaging the outer surface of the first mentioned member, said platehaving an arm movable with respect to the said member for engaging anddisengaging it, a nut on the bolt for exerting pressure on the saidmember and forcing it into engagement with tobacco stems on the rstmentioned member, and clamps on the second mentioned member engaging thefirst mentioned member for holding the two members in operative clampingpositions.

2. A tobacco stick comprising two channel iron members superimposed oneon the other, a clamp pivotally mounted at each end of one of themembers and adapted to exert pressure on .the other member to hold themassembled, and means between the ends ofthe members for exerting presorisure for forcing the two members together and clamping tobacco stemsinterposed between them.

3. A tobacco stick comprising two channel irons, one 0f which is a basemember and the other movable with respect thereto for clamping the stemsof tobacco leaves between them, a clamp pivotally mounted on the basemember at each end and having 'cheek pieces adapted to straddle theother member when ,the two members are assembled `in operative position,and a means between the ends of the stick for forcing the memberstogether for increasing the pressure thereof on the said stem.

4. A tobacco stick comprising two channel irons, one of which is a basemember and the other movable with respect thereto for clamping the stemsof tobacco leaves between them, a clamp pivotally mounted on the basemember at each end, said clamp comprising cheek pieces adapted tostraddle the yother member and having a web between them terminatingshort of the ends of the cheek pieces for forming supports for one ofthe members when separated from the other to permit the insertion of thestems of tobacco leaves between the said members, the extensions of thecheek pieces forming guides to` hold the compansion member during suchoperation, the

said member being ,released when the clamps are moved outwardly so thatthe two members ma?,7 coact to lengage the tobacco, the said clamp beingmovable to embrace the other coacting member whenin operative positionto hold the tobacco.

5. A tobacco stick comprising two channel irons, one of which is a basemember and the other movable with respect'thereto for clamping the stemsof tobacco leaves between them, a clamp pivotally mounted on the basemember at each end, said clamp comprising cheek pieces adapted tostraddle the .other member and having a web betweenA them terminatingshort of the ends of the cheekpiec'esfor forming supports fOr one of themembers when separated from the other to permit the insertion of thestems of tobacco leaves between the said members, the extensions of thecheek pieces forming guides to lhold the companion member during suchoperation, the said member being released when the clamps are movedoutwardly so that the two members may coact to engage the tobacco, thesaid clamp being movable to embrace the other coacting member when inoperative position to hold the tobacco, and a pressing means interposedbetween the ends of the stick for exerting pressurev on the tobaccobetween tl'levends of the stick.

LONNIE C. MAYERS. MACK C. MAYERS.

